26/27
Alexander McQueen at PFW

27/27
Alexander McQueen at PFW

Alexander McQueen may have financial backers in Paris and a design studio in London, but the unforgiving landscape of Scotland is its spiritual home.

The house’s latest collection, unveiled in Paris, is a celebration of its unbreakable connection with the remote north as Sarah Burton placed Shetland at the heart of her latest vision.

It was emotionally charged territory, not least because Kilmuir, on the Isle of Skye, is where Lee McQueen’s ashes are buried. Caledonian codes - tartan and kilts - also form a major proportion of McQueen’s DNA.

But this did not look back to the violent Highland Rape collection, which immortalised Lee McQueen as the world’s most dramatic designer in 1995. Instead, it was creative director Sarah Burton’s poignant discovery of a community which truly values craftsmanship.

Soft-tiered Shetland lace dresses, sloppy Fair Isle sweater knits and voluminous peasant gowns worn with leather harnesses gave last night’s show its backbone. There was also a real sense that this collection belonged by the sea, with romantic gowns depicting a shipwreck among the most spellbinding.

Backstage, Burton praised Shetland as a source of inspiration, citing a tradition kept by families brought together through marriage.

"The bride’s side of the family wove one side of the blanket and the groom’s side wove the other side - this was about the coming together of those two sides," she said. "I loved the idea of unity and the imperfections."

Burton made no reference to Brexit or the Scottish referendum but it was impossible not to view this show as a political statement. The London designer is clearly of the view that warts and all is better than not at all. "What we found was unity and love," she said. "It’s a very inspiring place."